Mesenteric Panniculitis Associated With Vibrio cholerae Infection.

We report the first case of acute Vibrio cholerae infection with computed tomography (CT) changes consistent with mesenteric panniculitis (MP). A 78-year-old Indian man returned from overseas travel with progressively severe nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and watery diarrhea. His stool tested positive twice for Vibrio cholerae. CT revealed prominent lymph nodes and a hazy mesentery consistent with MP. Antibiotic treatment resulted in complete resolution of MP on follow-up CT 8 months later. In the setting of Vibrio cholerae infection, the CT finding of MP appears to be the result of a immunologically mediated reactive inflammatory disorder of the mesentery.